An electric car company with a rich history is rolling out a racy new EV that will be its first in 74 years.

Detroit Electric, which shipped its last electric car in 1939, will relaunch sales in August with an EV that accelerates from 0 to 62mph in 3.7 seconds and hits a top speed of 155mph. Company representatives say the $135,000 vehicle will be targeted at buyers who want performance first and electric technology second.

"It's not just an electric car," Alex Michaelides, a Detroit Electric spokesman, told us. "It's a sports car that happens to be electric."

Detroit Electric’s SP:01 will accelerate from 0 to 62mph in 3.7 seconds and hit a top speed of 155mph.(Source: Detroit Electric)

The new product, which the company is calling "the world’s fastest pure-electric production car," is clearly aimed at driving enthusiasts. Unlike most EVs, which typically use a single-speed transmission, the SP:01 drives its rear wheels through a four-speed manual transmission. Drivers don't need to use a clutch pedal to launch or stop the car -- only to change gears as the vehicle accelerates.

"It's really just there to give drivers the option that they normally don’t have with an electric vehicle," Michaelides said. The car goes up to about 30mph in first gear and 60mph in second.

The two-seat SP:01 has been compared to the Tesla Roadster, but Detroit Electric officials say their car's execution is different, and its batteries are smaller. The SP:01 employs two separate air-cooled battery packs -- one behind the passenger cabin and another above the AC synchronous electric motor in the rear. Together, the two packs offer 37kWh of energy, about one-third less than Tesla's Roadster. As such, the SP:01 recharges in approximately 4.3 hours at 240V and 32A.

Despite the battery size, the new vehicle will offer an all-electric range of about 180 miles. That's partly a result of the liberal use of carbon fiber composites for in car's body. The vehicle's curb weight is just 2,400 pounds.

The car's introduction marks a revival of the Detroit Electric name. The company, which built and sold electric cars from 1906 to 1939, sold 1,000 to 2,000 cars per year during its heyday in the 1910s. Notable customers included Thomas Edison, John D. Rockerfeller Jr., and Clara Ford (the wife of Henry Ford). However, the company stopped producing electric cars in 1929, and it sold its last vehicle in 1939.

The Detroit Electric brand was revived in 2008 by Albert Lam, former CEO of the Lotus Engineering Group, with the idea of building an electric car with superior handling and performance characteristics. The revived company is headquartered in Detroit's Fisher Building.

Detroit Electric plans to build just 999 units of the SP:01, with the idea of starting sales in August. A second limited-run sports car will follow in 2014.

Cap'n, now that's a nice car. My understanding is that it is basically an electric version of the Lotus Elise (which makes sense considering who the head of the company is). This continues a long tradition of collaboration between Detroit and England which produced cars such as the Ford GT40.

I am impressed that they can get such range out of a smaller battery pack. That is important, especially as it pertains to charging time. Tesla was originally looking at a two speed transmission, but deciede they could simplify things without it since they did not strictly need it. For sports car driving, though, it is nice to have it.

Chuck, this seems like an weird bird to me. Can a car company enter the auto market successfully with a single offering? Is exclusivity sufficient to interest enough buyers. Can the company be trusted to service the vehicle over its lifespan?

Also, I can't imagine this car all by itself -- a high-performance car -- would be able to manage the upcoming CAFE standards.

You've asked some tough questions here, Rob, and I think most of them can only be answered with time. Regarding your first question: Tesla originally entered with a single offering -- the Tesla Roadster -- and they appear to be making the business work right now. Admittedly, though, Tesla initially struggled and there are never guarantees that a company like this one will be able to survive those first few difficult years. Regarding CAFE: We don't know the fuel efficiency numbers, but I can't imagine there will be a problem here. They're now getting 180 miles out of a 37-kWh battery, which bodes well for their EPA numbers.

Great performance for an electric car. We know they are quite capable of large bursts of speed, and enough heat to melt the ice on the windscreen. I think a radio controlled version might be fun. But at that price, would not want my kids playing with it...

That's partly a result of the liberal use of carbon fiber composites for in car's body. The vehicle's curb weight is just 2,400 pounds.

@Charles, thanks for the update. Usage carbon fiber composite is a very good idea because its light weight and strong but I am more worried about the stability of the car. Since the curb weight is just 2,400 pounts what about stability of the car when it is running at the top speed ?

0-62mph in 3.7 seconds feels like what you get on the California Screamin' roller coaster at Disney's California Adventure amusement park - it uses linear motors to accelerate the coaster from a stand still.

Leave LOTS of room at the stop lights to test this out.

.76G acceleration. Hmmmm. If they tweak the performance even more, and we get REALLY grippy tires...

This isn't an electric car, it's an electric car that happens to be interesting. I mean, with a performance like that, you can tell that they're being serious. It carries a hefty price tag, but the drive-cost will certainly pay off for that.

Tesla originally started with a car based on the Lotus Elise. It also had exceptional acceleration. The original 4 speed transmission could not handle the torque and was replaced with a single speed transmission. It seems at first blush that Detroit Electric will be re-learning many of the lessons that Tesla has lived through.

If you simply want an affordable (?) vehicle with stupendous acceleration, get an Ariel Atom with your choice of motivation. Full electric version prototyped by Wrightspeed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qDZOBQs60w

But as with many electric/hybrid car offerings, keeping them in production, (or just making it to production) is quite an accomplishment.

This car already costs well over $100K so I wonder why they didn't use a proper dual-clutch gearbox for not much more money...the 0-60 times would probably drop another few tenths also and it would be great to drive clicking off shifts via paddle shifters (ala Porsche Cayman S)...it would also be the first electric to have it also.

This car already costs well over $100K so I wonder why they didn't use a proper dual-clutch gearbox for not much more money...the 0-60 times would probably drop another few tenths also and it would be great to drive clicking off shifts via paddle shifters (ala Porsche Cayman S)...it would also be the first electric to have it also.

It seems like we're in a new age of EVs and hybrids with this and the new one Porsche has unveiled. Bring it on! This goes to show that these cars aren't just for environmentally-conscious Yuppies anymore and are going or a whole new elite audience. http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1366&doc_id=261782

More $100K+ electric cars ? Just wehre is the mass market for these vehicles? There isn't one, and a 6 figure price sticker and leather seat covers is the only way there can be any return on investment, I would bet that every single buyer of this vehicle keeps an environment - destroying 250hp + gas guzzling SUV in the garage.

You're probably right, Battar, but I like to have a more optimistic view and hope that by making these type of cars before there is demand for them, somehow the demand eventually will be created. I hope these cars will be so good that those people who still have 200k+ gas guzzling cars will eventually give them up and go EV or hybrid.

I found this of great interest as the Anderson Carrage was located in Port Huron, Michigan and they then moved to Detroit and became the Detroit Electric. They were powered by the improved batteries that were invented by Thomas Alva Edison who was also from Port Huron MI. and lived a shot distance from the Anderson Carrage Company. I believe a to make any electric vehicle a detachable power source like a APU that could be used as a range extender in necessary. Until fuel cells or other processes become avaialible, range limitations are the downside. I was happy to see a Detroit Electric in the Greenfield Village Parade at The Henry Ford run with the many internal combustion entrants. Just to leave you with a thought. All Railroads in America are powered by electricity.

Why do we need an overpriced electric car that attempts to mimic the performance of a gas car? What would really do some good is a light, simple affordable electric. It might have a range of 25 to 40 miles and a top speed of perhaps 55 mph. A two-car family would use it to commute to work and make other local trips, while maintaining the gas or hybrid car for longer expeditions. Such an electric could use conventional DC motor with a pulse-width armature control and provision for regenerative braking. Almost any battery would do, maybe even the good old lead-acid type. Let's use gas engines and electric for what each does best.

You have a good point j-allen. The main problem with gas engines is that they drain a lot of fuel in the city limits when the traffic is at its peak. Electric cars can help in this regard with their limited performance capabilities since nobody will be needing a superfast electric car when they're stuck in traffic and moving at a snail's pace.

The fuel consumption of gas engine cars in heavy city traffic could be reduced a whole lot by implementing a stop-start engine management system, and even more if drivers were allowed to use manual control as well. At least some drivers could improve on the benefits of the automated system by a large margin.

Yes, start-stop will be important to reducing fuel consumption, William K. We talk a lot about electric cars and plug-in hybrids because that's what people want to hear about. But the truth is that mass production of start-stop will probably save more fuel than electric cars, just because of the sheer numbers. Most expert say that 30%-50% of new vehicles will have start-stop by 2020. A few predict that 100% could have the feature by 2025. Automakers are waiting to see how customers receive it. If they accept it, we'll see a mass move to start-stop.

The benefits could start a lot sooner if the auto companies were willing to sell a manual stop-start package. That could be availablke by 2015 model year if they chose to push it a bit.

Right now it is not even possible to reduce fuel consumption by shifting into neutral and coasting, since the engine control algorithm keeps the engine speed up until the vehicle stops moving. That is probably to provide power steering assist, but it is a fuel waster regardless of the reason. Of course there is that other question which is do we really need power steering in the lighter cars today?

Back in 1968, or so, we went through a design exercise for an electric dragster with 4-wheel drive. The plan was to utilize 4 series wound DC motors, surplus, of course, and directly drive each wheel. We figured that for the few seconds to go a quater mile we could get away with a lot of overdrive. We were hoping for at least 1600HP in a car under 1000 pounds. The secret was the huge diesel generator truck parked back behind the pits, and the copper strips alongside the strip. Like a giat slotcar without the slot. It would have been a fantastic night time show, and it would have really been a recrd breaker. Unfortunately it was way more than we could scrape up to even start building. It could have been the 3 1/2 second car. Not quite silent until launch, but close.

I'm not sure what (or where) the market is, but if I had an extra wad of cash around I'd consider it. Rob asks: "Can a car company enter the auto market successfully with a single offering?" Well, of course! Haven't you heard of the Delorean? Oh... wait... Never mind. You probably meant can they do it SUCCESSFULLY, huh? Probably not.

But still, it's cute. And great range for a smallish battery pack. The 2400 lb curb weight is what Porsche needs to shoot for in their EV. Maybe there's a buyout on the horizon.

Not sure I understand the need for a gearbox in an electric car, unless you need to "feel" like a combustion engine car... Or is it because they are using very small motors that could not sustain both high accelerations and top speeds ?

The motor type is described as "AC Synchronous", which is a type of motor that has a definite best operation spread of speeds. The DC series type of motor is quite different in it's speed-torque curve. So for most efficient operation different gear ratios will be quite beneficial. Study the curves and you will understand why that is.

Charles, a series-wound DC brush type motor would be a very good motor for a dragster because the torque is greatest at zero speed. The challenge there is that the current draw is greatest also. The other challenge is the range of speeds available with a given motor design. The big problem is that as the speed increases the back EMF also rises, which reduces the current, and thus the power. So to keep accellerating the supply voltage needs to keep increasing. Thus the need for gear shifting, unless the car finishes the quatrter mile befor the motor torque starts to fall off.

A bit disappointed by the slide show, I'd like to see what the controls of an electric sports car look like. As an aside, with this many auto articles appearing, Design News may have to see if Dan Neil's got any spare time...:-)

Do we need another over-priced super-performance electric vehicle that tries to mimic a gas-powered racer? How about a simple, reliable machine that just gets you to work and back and handles local trips? I suspect that families could buy such a basic electric , and also have a gas car for longer trips or a super-powered one to help the man of the house to compensate for his masculine "shortcomings."

"best" illusion of a zero pollution solution?.. (not zero pollution, not even close, even if you charged it with solar cells at home exclusively).... Lower pollution? most of the time (not all)

Electric cars at present certainly are not the cheapest cost per mile for ownership. Or highest performance. Or ?...

In the future? Maybe that will change.

Seriouly, nearly every technological advancement isn't adopted by what the general population sees as a "valid use". Most often, the adoption and advancement of technology is fueled by "morally questionable" uses ( war, greed and yes, sexual desire). Only later do they evolve in to products without moral burden.

So who cares about the social impact of 100 or 1,000 cars?.. When millions are being made.

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